One of the problems during surgery occurs when a medical gas, which is used to insufflate a body cavity, produces additional trauma either directly or indirectly to the body. While the body must endure the trauma produced by the surgery, the use of medical gas, which is often referred to as an insuflation gas, can cause additional trauma to the body resulting in cell stress or cell death. The trauma caused by the medical gas is due to the properties or state of the medical gas that is delivered to the body cavity. For example, the temperature of the gas as well as the moisture content of the gas can produce cell desiccation, cell stress, inflammation and cell death which can result in adhesions as well as pain to the patient and consequently a longer recovery time. Ott et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,411,474 and 6,068,609 recognizes that the cause of the additional trauma from if the medical gas is at an improper insufflation temperature or if the medical gas is to dry when the medical gas is delivered to the body cavity.
The Ott et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,609 discloses a device for conditioning the medical gas wherein water is injected into a heater/hydrator to increase the humidity of the gas as well as the temperature of the medical gas.
The Ott et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,474 discloses a further device for heating, humidifying and filtering insufflation gasses prior to and during medical procedures.
The present invention comprises a method and apparatus using a fluid gas separation barrier that permits water vapor and heat transfer therethrough but prevents liquid transfer therethrough to condition a medical gas by bringing the medical gas from a “trauma inducing state”, i.e. a state where the gas if introduced into a body cavity will cause cell stress or cell death, to a “trauma free state” i.e. a state where the introduction of the medical gas into a body cavity does not cause damage to the cells of the body.